Simple and Delicious Beef Stew

Hello again!

Man! It has been forever since I have posted! I have a pile of delicious recipes for you all! Today you only get one though :)

This is a super easy stew recipe. All you need is:

A pound of stew meat (I used leftover roast from Sunday supper)
4 large potatoes
4-5 carrots
1 large onion
2-3 beef bouillon cubes
1 package stew seasoning
1 bag frozen peas
salt and pepper to taste

Toss the stew meat chunks in flour until they are well coated. Brown in skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil. Cut carrots, onion and potatoes into chunks of your liking.
Place all vegetables except peas into dutch oven. Add meat and bouillon cubes. Cover with water and simmer over medium-high heat until vegetables are tender (about 30 minutes or so). Add stew seasoning, salt and pepper and peas. Cook for another 15-20 minutes. Serve with warm bread.

Have a great day!
Kayla

Cheesecake and a crazy week.

Goodness! I realized yesterday that this post is long overdue!
The past week has been crazy! A close cousin of mine had a baby boy two weeks ago and then my best friend had a boy a couple days after, so last Thursday I made them both lasagna (and totally forgot to take pictures.)
Then, Saturday I made two cheesecakes (one for a festival at our parish and the other for us), cleaned the house, went to a bridal shower for a darling girl, and finished up some sewing. This week has been a little slower. (Thank goodness!)

Here is a delicious cheesecake recipe for you :) The texture is a little crumbly, which makes it a bit unique from the usually creamy cheesecake.

For the crust you need: 

2 C graham cracker crumbs
1/4 C butter
1/4 C sugar

For the cake you need: 

4- 8 oz packages cream cheese
6 eggs
2 C sugar
2 C sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Mix crust ingredients together and press into the bottom of a 10" spring form pan.

Having all the cheesecake ingredients at room temperature, blend them together well. (It will look a little lumpy when you are done.) Pour over crust and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in it for at least six hours or overnight so it does not crack. (No matter how tempting it is, DO NOT open the door or your cake may fall or crack in the center.)

As I do not have a light on my oven I did barely open the door and you can see what happened. :( Oh well, it was still delicious and I wasn't trying to win any prize I guess :)

 

 

Oh, and if you are in need of a good mixer, I highly advise you to invest in a Bosch! It is the best mixer I have ever owned in my life!

 Have a great rest of the week!
Kayla

        

Chili- Garlic Glazed Salmon

This is another great recipe from my favorite cooking blog www.navywifecook.com.

It is a super easy weeknight dinner and definitely delicious!

The ingredients are just:

3 T chili sauce with garlic
3 T minced green onion
1 1/2 T orange marmalade
3/4 tsp soy sauce
3-4 salmon fillets

Heat broiler.
Combine first four ingredients. Brush half the mixture over fillets. Place fillets, skin side down, on a greased baking sheet. Broil fish for 5 minutes, brush with remaining mixture, and broil for 2 more minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Chicken with Italian Sausage

This meal has been made in my kitchen at least four times in the last few months, and the other day was the first time I have ever eaten any of it. Spicy food is not big with me so I always steered toward something I knew I wouldn't cry over at dinner (obviously only due to the spices). 

This dish was as warm as I thought it would be since I used the spicy sausage. But over all it was pretty good (and Jeph really liked it which is all that matters really :)  )

The ingredients are:

 10 oz bulk mild or hot Italian sausage

 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 can (15 oz) white beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15 oz.) red beans, rinsed and drained

1 C chicken broth

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

Chopped fresh parsley (optional.)

Brown sausage in skillet over medium-high heat. Drain and discard fat. Spoon sausage into slow cooker. 

Trim fat from chicken thighs. Place chicken, beans, broth, onion, salt, and pepper into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Adjust seasonings as desired.

To serve, slice each chicken thigh on the diagonal. Serve with sausage and beans. Garnish with parsley.

Jeph and I are off to a Packers' game tonight! Have a great day!

Kayla

Pork Chops with Onion Sauce

This is going to have to be a quick post. This week is super busy with a million little things!!

This recipe came from a blog I love to read called The Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife. ( http://www.navywifecook.com/)
The pork chops took a little longer than I thought they would to cook, so next time I am buying thinner ones. Otherwise this was a great recipe and very easy to make!

You will need:

2 tsp. olive oil
4 boneless pork chops
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 T butter
1/2 C chopped onion
1/2 T Dijon mustard
1 T flour
1 C chicken stock
2 T parsley, chopped

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Combine cumin, brown sugar, salt and pepper and rub both sides of pork chops. (I had to make extra to rub them all.)
Cook pork chops in skillet about 5 minutes per side. Remove to plate when done.
Melt butter in same skillet. Add onion and Dijon mustard, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add flour, cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.
Spoon onion sauce over the pork and sprinkle with parsley before serving.

Kayla

White Chicken Enchiladas

Oh my goodness!!! These enchiladas are totally AMAZING!!! I think I could eat them three times a day they are so good!
Surprisingly the recipe is also super simple which makes it a win win in my book :)

All you need is:

10 soft taco shells
2 C cooked, shredded chicken (I usually cook mine on low in my slow cooker for 4 hours or buy a Rotisserie chicken at the grocery store if I forgot to thaw the chicken...)
2 C shredded Cheddar or Montrey Jack cheese
3 T butter
3 T flour
2 C chicken broth
1 C sour cream
1 can diced green chilies (4 oz)


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9" x 13" pan.
2. Mix chicken with 1 cup cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.
3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour, and cook 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat.
4. Stir in sour cream and chilies.
5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.
6. Bake for 22 minutes and then high broil for 1-2 minutes to brown the cheese. (Watch closely so tortillas do not burn on edges.

I usually double the chicken to fill up the tortillas a bit more and I also skip the broiling step since it seems to turn the edges of the tortillas crispy and we don't care for that.

Well, happy Friday! So excited for grocery shopping this weekend! (NOT!) Oh well, we have got to eat I guess! :)

Have a great one!
Kayla

Hamburger Casserole

So, I think I am definitely on a pinterest kick. But why not? Pinterest is the most useful site on earth!
Guess where this recipe is from...you got it...pinterest! :)

This was a good dinner. I did add garlic powder to it which added a bit more flavor. Next time I am definitely going to add another can of tomatoes also.

The recipe is very simple. All you need is:

1 lbs of lean ground beef
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 tsp salt (optional)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup beef broth
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
1 tsp parsley

Brown hamburger. In Dutch oven layer half the meat, potatoes and onion. Sprinkle with half the salt and pepper. Repeat layers. Pour beef broth over all and top with tomatoes. Cover and cook over medium heat for 45-50 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. (You can also put it in the oven for 40 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit). Sprinkle with parsley and serve. Makes 5-6 servings.

Have a great Thursday!!!
Kayla